by Riley, Alexa
He gives me another nod, and I smile politely in thanks before turning and going downstairs. With each step, dread weighs down on me. I try and shake it off the best I can. I have to do this. I have to ask the questions that I need answers to. I won’t sit and turn a blind eye to what he might be doing.
The door is ajar, but I knock lightly. “Come in, Loren,” my dad calls, and I push it open.
He stays seated behind his desk. I can already feel the weird tension in the room, but maybe it’s me. He tilts his head and looks me over. He isn't the same man I remember from years ago, and it’s a reminder of how fast things can change.
“You’re scared of something,” he says as he stands up. “Did someone harm you?” he asks as he braces his hands on his desk.
Did someone harm me? No. Did they touch me? Yes. It won’t be a lie, which is something I always have to be careful about.
“No one has harmed me,” I answer, stepping farther into his office.
“Come sit.” He points to a chair and I do as I’m told, taking a seat in front of him.
He keeps studying me and I don’t even know where to start. I stare at the same face I’ve known my whole life. I’m growing older each year, but his always stays the same. If you told someone we were father and daughter they wouldn't believe it. Not with how young he still appears.
“Out with it,” he pushes, and I can tell he’s already irritated with me.
It makes me miss the old him even more. Maybe this was the real him all along and I’m only seeing it now that I’m looking for it. I notice he’s getting careless with keeping things hidden from me.
“I found this.” I pull the picture out and place it on the desk. “You lied to me.” He picks up the picture and stares at it without a reaction. “How can I be your child?” The words come out whisper-soft, but I know he hears me.
I wring my hands in my lap. He’s never given me much of a story on his vampire history, telling me the less I know about things the better. I hadn't pushed because when I was younger I didn’t give it much thought, too young to fully comprehend what a vampire was beyond what I saw on tv or read in a book.
“I raised you, didn’t I?” he says, his voice calm and even. “I gave you everything you needed.”
I nod. “Dad.” I look at the man that has been my life and he’s all I know. “I need you to give me some kind of honesty. Please.”
I silently beg for him to lay everything out and make me feel horrible for the things I’ve conjured up in my mind. Maybe he only told a few small white lies to protect me. I need to know something because my mind keeps trying to come up with reason after reason to distrust him.
He drops the picture back down onto the desk and sits down. I hate the silence that lingers and it makes me think he’s coming up with lies to tell me. The truth should come out easily.
“Are you killing redheaded women?” I toss out the bomb to shake the silence, but he only he lets out a laugh. He throws his head back and the sound doesn’t put me at ease. He’s not laughing as though my question is crazy. It’s sinister. It makes the pain in my stomach throb.
“You’re not as stupid as I thought you were.” His words are worse than a physical slap right to the face and a tear escapes. “Don’t cry.” This time there is a trace of regret in his voice. “I do care for you, Loren. I didn’t think I would, but it grew over time. You're the closest thing to a daughter I’ll ever have.”
I’m unsure how to respond.
“You should thank me. Your mother, if you can even call her that, had you stuffed in a drug house. You’re lucky to be alive. I found you when you were three years old running around a trash bin barely nourished. I saved you and made you forget that rotten life.”
He smiles like he’s proud of himself and I don’t know how to feel about it. “Is my mother still alive?” He shakes his head. “Bishop killed her.” I repeat the words he’s said to me a hundred times. They’re always in my mind and sometimes they’re on a loop playing over and over. I’m not able to process all of it right now, as crazy as that sounds. Maybe I am going crazy.
“It is because of him she’s dead,” he confirms.
“I don’t understand any of this. The women? Why you chose to take me? Why…” I trail off. There are too many questions to even name and now my head is spinning. “Do you really work for the government?”
“I work for no man.” My body goes numb and my mind tries to play catch-up, but there are so many holes. I remember screams from the basement and men that came and went. He told me some things were done for the greater good.
“A greater good of your choosing.” His eyes lock with mine. I naïvely thought the greater good meant everyone.
“This was so much easier when you let me in your mind,” he sighs. “It’s harder now and I don’t know how you do it, but you do.”
I lock my hands together to keep them from shaking. Everything's coming apart at the seams. It’s not just learning one bad thing about him but that he’s rotten to the core. My fuzzy memories make more sense.
“You’ve been standing next to evil this whole time and you thought you were standing in the light. This isn’t the right side of things.”
The girl’s words float through my mind. “This is all about Bishop, isn’t it?” It has to be. Everything always circles back around to Bishop and my dad’s hate for him. If there is one thing I’m certain of, it’s that my dad loathes Bishop. How did I get tangled up in a mess between them?
It still doesn't add up because now my dad has no need to avenge my mother. She was nothing to him, so why is he doing this?
“Yes, it started there. I knew he wanted you, so I took you.” He says it so easily, as if he popped into the store and bought me.
“You took me,” I repeat. Those simple words make me feel as though I’m only an object and nothing more.
“I saved you.” This time I feel the bite of his words. He’s getting mad, yet still I push. “You’re mine now, daughter, and he can’t have you.”
Maybe he does care about me in some weird twisted way. But now that I know he’s been playing with my mind, I have no idea what was real or what wasn’t. Furthermore, why does Bishop want me? Why do you always want him, my mind answers. I shake that thought away. I don’t want the man who killed my mother. I’m not sure I want the man sitting in front of me to be in my life anymore either.
“Did you save me from the life I was living or from him?” I ask and stand up. He does the same and we stare at one another.
I can tell he doesn't want to answer the question as his jaw clenches.
“You don’t really care about me or whatever this is.” I point between us, feeling my heat and anger rising. “I’m some chew toy between you two for some crazy reason that you won’t tell me!” I scream.
Before I see him move, he’s out from around the desk and smacks me hard on the face. I fall back into my chair and clutch my cheek as I lick my bottom lip and taste blood. My face throbs, but it’s the least of the pain I’m feeling right now.
Gordon stands over me looking a little shocked himself that he hit me. “I—” His words are cut off when the speaker on his phone comes alive.
“Security breach.”
“Fuck!” he curses then he picks up the phone and listens to whatever is being said.
“Get to the panic room. Stay there until I come for you.” He pulls me up from the chair and pushes me towards the doors of his office. “Loren, are you listening to me? Go to the panic room. You know the drill.” I nod.
I leave his office and walk towards the basement still holding my cheek. Men run past me as I get to the door of the basement and stop. I recall the last time I went down there and what I’d seen. There was so much blood everywhere and the thought of it now sends a chill all over me.
A loud explosion rocks the whole house and I have to brace myself on the wall so I don’t fall over. My ears ring from the sound, but something inside of me realizes this is my chance. I
drop my hand and see a smear of blood on my fingertips. My lip having cracked when he hit me. He never denied killing those women and I’m not going to be added to that list.
Chapter 6
Bishop
“Shit,” I say when I hear the explosion go off.
The others must be close enough to hear the alarms. I managed to sneak into the back kitchen stairwell without being detected, but the door stayed open too long and triggered a sensor. I’m weak and I can’t move as fast as I need to, so I have to be careful.
I ease into the hallway and wait for a group of men with guns to pass by me. As long as I take my time and stay calm I’ll be fine. I got dizzy a few times on the way in and I know my family was close by watching, no matter how many times I told them to stay away.
As I push away from the wall, I wait for the next explosion to go off, but it doesn’t. They might be waiting to trigger another one to use when I escape. I will make it out of here alive and with Loren. I’ll do everything I can to save her and keep that monster away from her and my family.
I take a few steps down the hallway and I freeze when I hear something coming. I don’t have the time or the energy to run and hide so I stand there as the person comes around the corner and faces me full on.
My throat tightens when I see the young woman standing there. She’s wearing a white dress with blood on it and her red hair is around her face. She looks up from the ground when she sees me and her violet eyes collide with mine.
“It’s you,” I say, barely above a whisper, as I stare into the face of the woman I’ve been dreaming of.
“Bishop?” she says, and though she looks at me like she’s surprised to see me standing here, she’s not running away.
“You have to come with me,” I say as I hold out my hand.
She looks at it for a long moment before she takes a few steps towards me. When we’re only a few feet apart her scent surrounds me and all that I thought was lost is brought to life. She smells like cinnamon and fresh apples and it makes my mouth water. My back straightens and my muscles flex. It’s like I’m being recharged with every breath of her I take into my lungs.
“I’m scared,” she confesses as she looks into my eyes.
I can see the fear there and all the questions around them. I have to make sure she’s safe, and right now I feel like I could throw her over my shoulder and plow through the concrete wall beside me.
“If you come with me, I swear on my honor and on my life that no harm will come to you.” I flex my open hand and she only hesitates for a second before placing hers in mine. “Trust me.”
As I say the words I pull her into my arms and run as fast as I can down the hall and to the back entrance that I came in. There are bound to be guards there, but it’s the quickest exit and time is not on our side.
The feeling pumping through my body right now is nothing like I’ve ever felt. I want to protect her and hold her close and possess every inch of her. I want to taste her body and make her laugh and I want to give her everything her heart desires. Is this what it means to become a mate? This overwhelming desire to fuck and to dominate all while being generous with everything inside of me? It’s like I’ve been handed a precious angel and it’s now my duty to make sure no one harms her or breaks her spirit for as long as she lives.
“Where are we going?” she asks as she tucks in close to me.
“I’m taking you home.” Something settles in my chest and it’s like I’m alive for the first time in two hundred years.
“They’ll try and stop us.”
I’m surprised she isn’t putting up a protest, but maybe she feels the pull to me as well.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you or get in my way.”
Just as the words are out of my mouth a man steps out, blocking the door I was about to walk out of. He’s a big motherfucker, but he’s human. I may have not been able to fight him off moments ago, but I have my mate now and I’m no longer on death’s door.
“Greg, let us go,” Loren pleads, and I shake my head.
“You’ll beg no man, angel,” I say as I set her down on her feet and push her behind my body. I glare at the muscled man and raise my chin. “You can let us go or you can die trying to stop us.”
“You think you can take what already belongs to me?” he says and laughs.
I can sense the fear rolling off Loren as if it were a living thing. She’s afraid of him, and that means he needs to pay. “Try and touch her and I’ll break every bone in your body.” I clench my fists and plant my feet. “If you move out of the way and let us go I’ll let you live, your choice.”
He laughs again, but before he can make a move I strike out and hit his face with the heel of my hand. I hear his teeth crack and he grabs his mouth as he stumbles backwards. I kick his chest and hear his ribs snap as he falls back against the wall. He’s out of the way now, so I decide to get out while we still can. I reach behind me and Loren takes my hand without hesitation, and we go to step around him.
Just as she goes by, Greg reaches out and snatches her leg with one hand and pulls out a knife with the other. Terror shoots through me and I react like any mate would if someone tried to do them harm. I grab his wrist and bend it back, snapping it with just a flick of my hand. He cries out and I grab the knife, stabbing it in his neck to silence him.
“Don’t look at it,” I say as I block the view from her. Loren’s face is white as I pull her close to me and run out of the door. “I don’t have time to explain, but I promise it’s all going to be okay.”
I’m worried she’s traumatized because she’s shaking now. Is this what happens when humans go into shock?
Just as we exit the house there’s another explosion on the other side and internally I’m thankful that my family didn’t listen to me. I scoop her into my arms and run as fast as I can away from the house and away from harm.
A dark van is waiting nearby and when we get close, the door slides open. I’m relieved when Kane and Valen jump out to help us get in quicker.
“Thank you,” I breathe as they close the door and the van speeds away from the curb. Loren is shivering, and Juliet places a blanket on top of her as I cradle her in my arms.
“We can’t go back to the houses. That’s the first place he’ll look,” I say. “If you’re all loaded up, then let’s go to the mountain.”
Ezra is behind the wheel and he nods. Dove is sandwiched between him and Erik, and she turns around to face me.
“We’ve got everything on the emergency list loaded in the back. The twins and I had the house stocked up last week just in case. We should be good to hide out there for a long time, or until we can figure out what to do next.”
I nod and feel relieved that I have my family with me to help. I know I thought I was making the right decision sending them away, but I was wrong. “Thank you, Dove.” She smiles brightly at me and then looks at Loren.
“You okay?” she asks, but Loren doesn’t respond.
“Just get us to the compound,” I say, and Dove nods and turns back around.
I lean close and whisper to Loren. “It’s all going to be okay. You’re safe and no one is going to hurt you.” I place a kiss on the top of her head, and when she buries herself against me even further, I know that she’s going to be okay. “You can trust all of us.”
I need her to understand that she’s not in any danger and that we’re only here to protect her. I don’t know how long that will take, but I’ve got all the time in the world now, thanks to her. She saved my life, and the best way to repay that is to make sure that danger never finds her again.
Chapter 7
Loren
I finally pull my face away from Bishop’s neck when I feel myself being lowered onto a soft surface. I miss his rich scent and warmth instantly because I clung to him like a lifesaver in the storm that my life had become. I felt like I was drowning, and when he pulled me in closer to him, the shaking finally stopped. I melted into him, feeling comfort instantly.
It was all too much to take, but when I was surrounded by him I felt safe.
When I saw him standing there I thought for a moment it was a dream. That none of the horror was real and I would wake up in bed back in a life that hadn’t been turned upside down and my dad would be himself again. But it hadn’t all been a dream.
I went with Bishop willingly and believed the words that came from his lips as if they were truths carved in stone. I went with him so easily because something inside me pulled me towards him, telling me that he was safe. It was like an invisible thread that linked us together and tightened, and I knew he would make everything okay.
The same man my dad told me to fear for all these years is the one to save me. Gordon, I mentally correct, because he isn’t really my dad. I needed to come to terms with that. Gordon had taken me just as Bishop had, but didn’t I go willingly with Bishop? He asked me and I didn’t fight him. I reached out, taking his hand, and it was the most natural thing in the world.
His dark eyes stare into mine and his hand comes up. I should flinch, but I tilt my head, meeting his hand against my cheek. Something inside of me craves his affection.
“Who did this to you?” His touch is feather soft for such a big man. His fingers linger on my cheek as if I’m made of glass.
I swallow, not wanting to cry. I’m still shocked Gordon struck me, but I think I knew it was coming. He’d been changing lately, and I had to have known on some level or I wouldn’t have been walking on eggshells.
“Tell me?” Bishop asks as he moves even closer to me.
“How do you sound commanding and concerned at the same time?” I say.
I hear a loud snort and turn my head to see a group of people watching us. I know the noise came from the dark-haired female vampire. She’d probably look like more of a badass if the man next to her didn’t dwarf her in comparison, his arm slung affectionately around her.
Dove is here, too, and I find comfort in that fact. It makes me wonder if I should have taken her up on her offer that day. I guess some lessons must be learned on my own.
